That Makes As Much Sense As A Tutu Wearing Rat Interpreting The Bible

Yeah, that lines not going to cause any trouble. But I don't care. It describes what I'm feeling after reading some of the "history" on certain characters in the latest Marvel comics universe handbook. (Same could probably be said about DC Comics, but they don't come out with handbooks as often. Probably because they know how bad a compilation of one character will read after said character has been written and re-written over and over again by multiple writers--that is if they got another writer to go through said characters history and compiled something without said writer going bonkers).

I'd say that Marvel comes out with these books sporadically, but who am I kidding. At least once a month (more likely more than once a month) Marvel sends out "handbooks" for certain characters, groups, events, or whatever to supposedly keep the fans updated on what is happening with said character, group, event or whatever.

These books are not cheap. They usually costs around $4.99. Nope, not cheap--but it is a lot cheaper than buying the 'updated' encyclopedia of the Marvel (or D.C.) Universe (which has been updated at the least twice in the last ten years with a cost of around $35-$50 (depending on when and where you buy it)).

Recently Marvel has had a number of events concerning the character of "Phoenix" and they came out with the "The X-Men: Phoenix Force Handbook". Don't buy it. That is unless: (a) you are a true fan of this character (and, by the way, this handbook will not help you understand anything about these characters); or (b) you enjoy having your brain screwed around with. It just proves how bad some writers really are.

My main complaint with comic books (for the past 10 years, at least) is that they are never consistent thereby ruining my favorite characters. Aquaman comes to mind. He's a guy who lives underwater and he can control fish. Peter David got a hold of him and made his story a lot like the King Arthur legend (Peter David is a favorite writer of mine). They got rid of Peter David and brought someone else in who took him in another direction wherein they made San Diego, California a town underwater and Aquaman became that city's protector. Then I think Mark Wade got a hold of him and took him back towards the King Arthur direction. Then Wade left and they brought someone else in who made him a squid faced loner who was helping his clone unite all of the underwater cities. Then Aquaman was killed (as the squid faced loner). Then he was a zombie. Now he's back from the dead, looking like he did pre-Peter David and he controls dead sea creatures. Tada!

The comic book companies always have too many different writers come in and say "have I got a great idea for this character!". And then they let them run with it. Then the characters get so discombobulated that it's not worth it to keep up with them, thereby the comic company looses money. It's their own fault.

Getting back to the Phoenix Handbook fiasco. I'm a little more than halfway through this particular handbook and my head is aching. It seems that the writers of most of the characters really don't give a crap about the character themselves. The writers don't bother to go back and throughly read-up on the characters history to catch-up on what that character did or didn't do. So when you read the entry for the character it makes no sense. (I had to go back and read an entry for a character three times because they mentioned that the character's husband was killed, but they didn't mention anything earlier in the entry about her being married.)

Oh, and if the character is a 'time travelling' character you can completely forget about consistency at all.

But, I'm putting up with it--for now. I am not at a point where I'm ready to give up on comics…yet. Soon…but not yet.

And getting back to the rat: I do believe the rat's interpretation dance would be a lot more entertaining.

Oh well. More later….Booboo

Reality, What A Concept!

That line is from a Robin Williams stand-up show that was done in 1979 (aptly named "Reality…What A Concept"). This was at the time when he was on "Mork & Mindy", right when he was becoming a huge stand-up comic. I remember getting and listening to this concert on 8-track tape.

"What's 8-track tape" you say? It was one of the few types we could use back then for listening to music/recordings: first was record albums and 45 singles; then 8-track tapes and tape cassette tapes; then CD's came along and promptly blew everything away (but now we also have records again, because people like to hear the 'pops' and 'scratches'). 8-tracks were housed in these large, bulky cassette boxes and you could listen to them in an endless loop (unlike you could with a cassette or record)--but you could never fast forward or rewind them (like you could cassette tapes, or records (if you sat by the turntable and kept moving the arm back to the track, causing the 'pops' and 'scratches').

A quick "google" search shows that 8-tracks were initially made by the Lear company (for their Lear jets) but they wound up being put into cars; and they were also put into portable players (which we had one--a white one). They were also put into home stereo systems. We had one such system that had a "jukebox" like look to it (but it was not a juke box -- the front of it had some lights on it that would blink to the music). I still have it (it's in my basement); but I don't think it works (I don't have an 8-track tape to try it out on).

Surprisingly, 8-tracks had been around from the early 1960's and they stayed into the beginning of the 1980's. I say surprisingly because I only remember seeing them in the late 1970's early 1980's. But when Compact Dissc's were introduced, 8-tracks quickly dropped out of existence (soon to be followed by cassette tapes).

Now, the reason why I've brought up this ancient form of recording is because I have recently been listening to Meatloaf's "Bat Out Of Hell" album (which I now own on CD, but we used to own it on 8-track tape). The 8-track, like I said, would play the whole album in a loop, but it was never continuous. 8-track tapes had 4 levels (which is why they were able to put the whole album on it--and that it could constantly be played over-and-over again until (a) you got sick of it; or (b) you warped the tape). The problem was, there was only so much time that was available on each of the 4 levels. 8-track's had the unfortunate ability of cutting off a song in the middle (sometimes right in the beginning) of a song, switch to the next level and then finish the song.

So now whenever I listen to Meatloaf's "Bat Out Of Hell" on CD (which is truly a continuous format), I hear the breaks in the songs (because I had constantly listened to that 8-track tape). The same goes for anything I listened to on 8-track: The Eagles "Hotel California"; Styx "Cornerstone" and "Caught In The Act"; and Robin Williams' "Reality…What A Concept"--(which is a very funny album).

Well, this is not where I thought I'd be going with this entry. I thought I was going to write about how I have not gotten caught up in all of the reality shows offered (this Summer). I completely tuned-out "So You Think You Can Dance" (mainly because they changed the format). The only show I've been watching this summer is "Growing Up Twisted" (about the family of lead singer from Twisted Sister -- Dee Snyder). I can't say that the whole family is completely whacked, because Dee and his oldest son have their wits about them--but the rest of the family (wife, daughter and two other sons), they seem to be taking too much advantage of being under the microscope.

Now the Pocket Ferengei, he's a reality show nut. He will say he's not, but he is. Not only does he watch all of the car reality shows (Pink's All Out and Overhauling (is that even on anymore?), and anything else that has cars involved (am I reaching with NASCAR? I don't think so)); but he's been getting into the shows like River Monster, American Pickers, Pawn Stars, pretty much (almost) anything that shows up on Discovery. So, I guess, by association I watch them also (but I'm only in the room when they are on--I don't pay attention to them).

Well, that's all for me. Now that I've mentioned Robin Williams I think he's going to be my next top 10 list.

More later…Booboo

Monday Morning News (Or--They Are Trying To Do What Now?)

I usually don't write about things happening in the news. Other bloggers out on the ether net will gladly do it (and will usally beat the things to death). Well that changed. This morning I heard two news items that I thought were rather outrageous. They were both about "the City that is the capital of Pennsylvania" (why am I calling it that (or "the City Of Brotherly Love")--read more about that in the second item below).

First--the City has cash income problems (hey, every town in every State across America is having this problem; but since I live in the suburb of this City [even though I live in New Jersey, we are still called a suburb of this City] my Fox news channel covers this City).

The news channel has a reporter who is a 'man in the street' type of reporter--(meaning they usually have him reporting live and out somewhere in this City during his broadcast). In this morning's report he said he found out that certain officials get free parking (and he did name some names [and I applaud him for having the balls to say them live]). These people either get a placard to hold a choice parking space on the street outside City Hall, or are reimbursed by the City for parking in the garages in and around the area. He also reported that it's not just officials who are getting away with this. People who have a relative, friend, etc. working in the City (be it City Hall or the police or fire station or wherever) get their parking tickets 'taken care of'' so they don't have to pay it. (The parking in this City is horrible (like almost all major city's in the US); and people usually pay around $300.00 a month for parking (I made that number up, because I forgot what number he reported)).

Now this City is crying because they don't have any money. And here is a perfect way for them to make some: Start Charging These People. I know I'm being fanciful in my thinking, but it's way past time for the perks to keep going.

Now the second item that this reporter talked about was Blogging. This City is going to attempt to start charging $300.00 to people who Blog in the City. Now, I don't know when this is going to start happening (or who they are going to charge); but I do believe not only will they be attempting to charge people who live in the City and Blog about the City; but that they probably will be going after people who live in this City and Blog about anything.

So with that thinking happening, the next people to be charged this fee are people who live outside of this City (and the State of PA) and write a Blog about the time they spent in this City (be it on vacation or on a business trip). I'm talking about some companies travel Blog (which probably will get charged), or 'Joe Schmoe' who came to this City and just happened to mention this City by name in their Blog.

Do they think they will actually be able to somehow charge all these people? I don't know how, but they will probably find a way to do it…and then the lawsuits will begin.

It will be interesting to see how these two issues pan out.

So that's my two cents on these subjects. Just be wary of Blogging about the City of Brotherly Love…they'll try and hit you up for some money.

More later…Booboo

Happy Caturday!

I spy Caturday.

I hope ya'll have a good one, whatever you do!

Booboo

It's been a slow couple of days. Not much to talk about, except that I finally get the desire to go and do something on a Saturday (tomorrow) and my sister isn't available. Gah.

Oh well.

The movie picks lately have been dreadful. Here are some that we've watched recently that are worthy of mention:

The Losers

The first of the three "men-on-their-own" movies that were out this year (the other two being "The A-Team" [which I have not seen yet-waiting for DVD] and "The Expendables" [see prior post about it].) This one was based on a DC comics "adult" comic book ("Vertigo" is the name of DC's adult line). The Pocket Ferengei liked it a lot more than I did (I lost interest in it half-way through). The movie is rated PG-13 (that should have been my first (and only) warning). The Losers are 5 soldiers sent to South America to take-out a drug lord when [dunh dunh dunh] they get screwed over. Everyone who knows them thinks that they are dead. A female agent finds them and offers them a deal to get back to their lives (by getting back at the person who screwed them over). Of course, nothing is as it seems to be, and nothing really gets resolved at the end. I don't recommend renting this movie. Wait for cable. [Is it like the comic book? I have no clue, since I never read the book. But with a PG-13 rating, I highly doubt it. The writer (Andy Diggle) of the book has a credit for the characters; so I don't think they had any say with this movie.]

Cop Out



My first mistake: forgetting that Kevin Smith wrote and directed this movie. My second mistake: watching this movie. I am not a fan of Kevin Smith (although I did love his movie "Dogma"). I think he's an obnoxious twit. This movie stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as cops who have been partners for 12 years (or so--so it's Smith's take on the 1980's 'buddy-cop' movies). They get themselves suspended from the force; which doesn't help Willis' character (because he wants to pay for his daughter's $40,000.00 wedding -- even though Jason Lee (who plays the step-father) offers to pay for it himself). Willis has a baseball card worth $80,000.00, which (of course) gets stolen. Tracy Morgan is annoying (he does the same schtick over in each movie I see him in). Seann William Scott ('Stifler' from the American Pie movies--he will never ever live that part (or name) down) plays the obnoxious crook. Yet another movie that lost my interest. Wait for cable on this one too.

Ghost Writer

[He's what I qualify as 'yummy']

[Ditto (for Pierce)]

Yes, it is a Roman Polanski movie. If you can get over that fact, you will have watched a pretty enjoyable movie. Based on a book by Robert Harris (which I never read), this movie had multiple things going for it (the most important being that it kept my interest). This stars Ewan McGregor (as the Ghost, he's not given a name); Pierce Brosnan (ex-prime minister); Kim Cattral as the ex-prime minister's secretary (surprisingly, I never knew that she was British (she is)); Olivia Williams as the wife of the British Prime Minister (in "The Sixth Sense" she played Bruce Willis' wife); and Timothy Hutton and James Belushi have bit-parts (with James Belushi not looking like himself). The Prime Minister's first ghost writer dies mysteriously (is this what you would call 'irony'?). Ewan gets hired to be a replacement. Thinking he has two months to finish rewriting the book, he finds he only has two weeks to finish. Ewan finds some things in the previous ghost's notes and he gets caught up in it. (I'm not gonna ruin this one either. Let me know what you thought of the ending.)

And this is what passes as Martha's Vineyard {since Mr. Polanski can't come here--unless he wants to go to jail}

After.Life

I wasn't sure about this one. This is one of those movies where the preview looked really good--and I was surprised that the movie didn't disappoint me.

It stars Christina Ricci, with Justin Long as her boyfriend. Christina's character is a melancholy woman. She's a grade school teacher, and she's dating Justin Long (a lawyer who just got news that he's been offered a job far from where they are living). But those aren't what make her sad. Her character just goes through the motions of living--not really living. She finds out that her music teacher from when she was younger has passed away. So she goes to the funeral (where Liam Neeson is the funeral director). Afterwards, she meets Justin for dinner, but before he could ask her to marry him and move with him to his new job (he's nervous about the 'asking her to marry him' bit--and he screws it up); she misinterprets his words to mean he's breaking up with her, she makes a scene then storms out of the restaurant. On her way home she gets into a car accident. Then the story gets interesting. Is she dead? Is she alive? That's, I believe, the point of the movie. (Christina was good; Justin was "meh"; but Liam was VERY good in this one…it's a role I don't believe he's ever played before (and this movie was filmed around the time of his wife's premature death)). Then there's the kid (picture above). I'm not gonna spoil it for you--watch the movie and let me know what you think. Most definitely worth a look.

Hot Tub Time Machine


John Cusack. 1985. Enough said? Nope.

The title of this movie is just horrible, but the movie is fun (and very crass). Cusack's friend gets picked-up for 'attempted suicide' (he said he wasn't really attempting to kill himself, it was just an accident). So Cusack and friends are told by the doctor at the hospital to watch him for the next 48 hours or so (so that he doesn't do it again). They (reluctantly) agree and they decide to visit an old ski lodge that they hadn't been to in years. And that's where they find the "hot tub time machine". You have to watch it to enjoy the experience (it brings back those fond, fuzzy memories of the mid-1980's). Definitely a movie worth a look.

So that's the story morning glory.

An aside: Looking back on my post about "Inception"...hehe...here I am complaining about Hollywood being out of new ideas; and I bash this movie. Well let me explain: yes, I will congratulate it for being a new idea. But you bet your butt I will still bash it, because it was executed poorly. A lot of people liked it because it's a "thinking" movie. That's fine and dandy. I'm all for thinking movies (see The Ghost Writer and After.Life, above)...but it just seems to me that the writer/director (who had nine years to get it finished. He's stated that he gave Warner Brothers a rough outline for the movie nine years ago and they said go ahead and write it. Nine years later, this is what we get). [I will go as far as taking back what I have said about it being a follow-up to a horrible movie called "Dark City" (that movie was from 1990's), this was not like that movie at all.]

Well, off to lunch. More later...Booboo

Lucky Me; I'm 43.

Yep. 43. Not old to some; but … yeah, not old to me either.

Yesterday was my birthday. And like all of my other birthdays (in recent memory) I had the day off from work.

The reason I take my birthday off (beside it's my birthday): I have had several horrible experiences on my birthday while I was working. While working as a telephone operator for a company who answered numerous doctor offices phones (about 50 of them), one doctor threatened to sue me because I did not attempt to contact him for a call. (The guy had a message on him that he was not to be disturbed for any reason.) Another fun experience was working for this harpy of a woman who ran the word processing unit of a major (at that time) bank. I swear she only hired me to belittle me (and I was young and stupid at that point to take her crap). After getting several complaints (from other people in the same unit--so it really wasn't me); she made a big theatrical episode of apologizing to us all and blamed it on menopause. The harpy has since left this plane of existence (I saw her obituary last year).

So instead of taking off the whole week (which I normally do), I just took the day. And I'm really glad I did.

The celebration started Monday evening, after I finally decided what I wanted to do. The Pocket Ferengei and I went to a drive-in movie. (Yes, they still exist). We try to find them and go to them at least one time a year (didn't last year--although we could have gone to one in Vineland, NJ (named: The Delsea Drive-In).

I found a theatre in Walnutport, PA called "Becky's Drive-In". It's a hike for us--took us about 1hour and 45 minutes (or so--without the Garmin; if we had gone back home and gotten the Garmin (which we forgot to put back in the car where it's supposed to be) we would probably have gotten there quicker. Thank you Google Maps.) It's an interesting drive. We went up the PA Turnpike to Allentown (which is no longer a "name" on the turnpike ticket (it's "Lehigh Valley" now), then you go through Allentown (which, at 7:00 pm on a Monday was quite busy), then you get into some mountain country, and at the last gas station you find (when you decide to stop to ask directions) the drive-in is right around the corner. [Dear Pennsy: Please make your street signs bigger and clearer. Thank you. Booboo]

The place is rather nice. And for only $8.00 (per person) you get to see two movies (new and mainly recent). They had: The Expendables/Predator on Screen 1; and The Other Guys and Inception on Screen 2. I asked the very pleasant ticket person if it was alright to switch movies during intermission and she said yes (which was great because we really didn't want to see Predator). So we got to see The Expendables and Inception.

The Expendables



Popcorn flick. That's all she wrote. It seemed like Stallone got sick and tired of hearing every other person in the world whine about seeing him and all the other action stars (young and old) on the screen together. Well, this was it. The plot: thin. The action: very good. The quips: some fantastic, some grin worthy. Definitely a "renter" (or, if you are lucky enough to have a drive-in by you, see it at the drive-in/discount theater (do they have discount theaters anymore? I know the few we had in New Jersey seem to have closed (along with the drive-in)).

Inception



My vote is still out on this movie (and it's two days since I've seen it). This is a "pay attention" movie. I'm not going to go into it here (because I will ruin it). But if you go to www.pluckyoutoo.com (look for the 8/17/2010 post); you will read a very well written review of the movie.

As for the acting: I'm already a Joseph Gordon-Levitt fan. In this movie he's doing a lot of fight scenes (and I hear he did them all himself--good for him); but I'm still not certain I would put him in the up-and-coming-action-hero role just yet. (Romantic lead--yes, most definitely.)

Leonardo DiCaprio-- I'm not a huge fan (sometimes he's good, other's "meh"--in this one, I guess he was good).

Ellen Page--very good. She's becoming another favorite of mine. (Hey she was the third person to play my favorite comic book character (Kitty Pryde, in the horrible third X-Men movie)). She had a very decent role in this movie.

As for Christopher Nolan (who wrote and directed this one); well, he's allowed to miss sometimes. I'm not a fan of his movie "Memento" (warped to the nth degree); but it was worth watching (once), and I will give him "Inception" as a two-fer (because I'm still trying to figure the damn thing out). The only other movies of his that I've seen were "Batman Begins" (good movie); "The Dark Knight" (fantastic movie); and "The Prestige" (swing-and-a-miss--there were two movies like this that year and I liked "The Illusionist" a whole lot more).

Give it a look and decide for yourself. (If you've already seen it, post a note and we'll talk about it.)

So, since the last movie (Inception) started at 10:15 pm (and it was a long movie--about 2 ½ hours give or take); we got home around 3:00 am. I'm so very glad that I had taken off on my birthday.

I didn't get out of bed until around noonish. I wasn't very productive for the rest of the day (unless you count my Farmville being very productive, then nah).

The Bubba had called and left me a birthday message (she was the only one). The PF's mom and dad called twice (but they never leave messages); so the PF called them back and they wished me happy birthday.

I wasn't very observant when I got up. Spazz was though. He was doing the "stealth kitty" thing he does when he gets scared. He was bobbing and weaving in front of the window (which I had opened-up myself). I finally looked outside and there were balloons on our front step railing. (The Bubba strikes again. She said she tried to get into our house (she's got a key), but we had the chain set on the door and she couldn't get in.) So tonight we'll be going to her house for dinner (chicken and rice; bar-b-que chicken, and other stuff--yummy).

The PF took me out for dinner to "Red Robin". It's a pretty good burger joint. (The PF almost got himself slapped by me when he told our waitress it was my birthday; but after finding out that they give free sundae's to people celebrating their birthday's made up for it. [I asked the waitress for my sundae without singing; and she said that's fine with them. Yeah, she got a good tip.]

Well that's all for now.

More later...Booboo

"Dave? Dave's Not Here."*

Nope. Dave's not here. He hasn't been here for a long time now.

Dave (known to me as Daddo -- my father) was a decent man.

He was born in Pulaski, Tennessee to kind of a large family (I think he said there were 6 or 7 of them -- not as large as most at that time). His dad (I believe) was a farmer (because Daddo had told me a few times that he was always so glad that he "left the farm").

When he left the farm, he went into the Army where he was a part of the kitchen crew…working his way up to cook. This was about the time of the Korean war. I don't know how, but he did get injured during the war (he had lost a ¼ of his stomach). Somehow he made his way to New Jersey where he met a girl named Margaret at a USO dance. (Enter the woman I knew as Muzzy -- my mom).

Against all the odds (he was a "farm boy" and very lapsed Baptist and she was a northern gal who practiced Catholicism), they fell in love and got married on the
10th of August (which is also the PF's and mine anniversary).

When he got out of the Army, Daddo got in on the ground floor of the computer business. He worked for the State of New Jersey in their "computer lab" (as it was called back then, it took up the entire 3rd floor at the Labor & Industry building in Trenton). I remember visiting him at work (he worked the 3-11 shift, while Muzzy worked the 7-3 shift at St. Francis Hospital (she was a Phlebotomist -- fancy word for blood sucker)). I especially remember one of the people he worked with had a "Road Runner" stuffed animal on their desk, and me and my sisters would always go over an play with it. This computer lab used to run their back-up on these 'reels' of tape (they kind of reminded me of the reels used for movies, they were that big). And boy were they loud.

Daddo worked with the State almost until he passed away (I believe he had the stroke first, which caused him to get out on disability--so he never actually retired from the job).

He was a good dad to us. He was always quick with a joke (his favorite thing to joke about was that if any of his girls (there are 5 of us) wanted to get married; the guys could find the ladder in the backyard).

There was a bad side to him too: he was a drinker; which didn't help his depression at all. He tried (unsuccessfully) many times to give it up--but he couldn't. Even with us having an intervention for him (that was fun--NOT!), he still wouldn't give it up.

He always said he did not want to see his 60th birthday; and he didn’t. He passed away one month to the day.

Today Daddo would have been 76 years old.

Cheers Daddo…we still miss you.

[David Sherman Norwood -- 8/16/1934-7/16/1994]

More later….Booboo

*[Thanks to Cheech & Chong for that one.]

Regrets...Yeah, I've got a few.

Do you ever have that feeling of regret; the kind that eats away at you for not calling or stopping by to see an old friend--but now it's too late to do that? That's what I have today.

This is the second time in as many years that I'm feeling this way--and it's my own damn fault.

The first time was last year, when my friend JohnK passed away. I hadn't kept in touch with him, I did (and still do) with his wife--my best (non-family/marriage) friend, Titanica. But John, not really--I never kept in touch with him (except, if you want to call it contact, playing games with him on Facebook). He was the one who got me out of my shell the second time.

When I was younger I was what you call a "wall flower". I didn't have many friends, I kept to myself (or hung around with the people that I did wind-up making friends with, who weren't very many--I can count them on one hand). When I went to college, I started working at a place called the Mercer Mall Cinema. This is where I started coming out of my shell. JohnK was working at a new comic shop that opened up in the Mall (this was back in 1985-86). So I went over to the comic shop and JohnK befriended me. (I remember exactly how too: I would go in, look around, get my comics, pay and then leave. One day John took the time to actually strike-up a conversation with me...and voila: a friendship was born (which brought about my friendship with Conlon and then Titanica).

I said he was the second person. The first person was a wonderful lady named Ingrid Kazsuba. She worked at the General Cinema movie theatre (along with her husband Stan). I needed a job (so my Daddo told me--"get a job or you won't have a car"), so I saw an add in the newspaper for part-time work at the theatre. I vivdly remember the day I went in to fill-out the application: Mike Homes, Jim Trembley and Ingrid Kazsuba were at the theatre that day (working as ticket cashier, usher and concession person)...Jim and Ingrid were chatting with me while I filled-out my application; Mike coming out and chit-chatting along with them. I finished my application, gave it to Ingrid who said she'd give it to Hank (the Manager). I didn't really think much about getting the job there, but I did. Hank called me the next day for an interview and a "test" (math test: can you add and subtract? good, your hired -- you start Friday (they didn't have cash registers for the concession at that time--we were still low tech--a drawer with cash in it [taxes were already added into the price of the item you wanted])).

I remember my first day there too...It was a Friday in September 1985: and, we were under a hurricane watch (Hurricane Gloria); and I remember Bruce outside taping the front windows with masking tape--but we didn't close. Ingrid and Diane were teaching me the job of being a "concessionist" (mainly it was me and Ingrid behind the counter and Diane was the ticket cashier and Bruce and someone else were the ushers). Those were such fun times.

I'm bringing Ingrid up because she has passed-on to the other side (or whatever redemption you think you get when you die). My regret is that I didn't keep in touch with her.

I found out via Facebook e-mail from my friend Jeff (who heard it from his sister Jill -- both of who also worked with Ingrid at the movie theatre).

There's not going to be a funeral service (it's listed as "private family ceremony" only). I did see that Diane was listed in the obituary as "family friend", so that's nice to know that someone from the old crew kept in touch with her. I think Jill did also.

Me? I kept in touch through holiday cards. Every holiday I'd send a card to Ingrid; and she'd send one back to me. Recently, a couple of times she's written that I should stop by and see her...but I never did. And that's the kicker for me. I had the opportunity, but I never followed-up with it.

Where am I going with this post? Nowhere really. I'm using it as a tool to get my anguish out...and I apologize for that. But I don't really have anything else to use to get the pain out.

If anyone gets this far, I'm sorry if I didn't entertain today (Happy Caturday by the way). I'll try to be more happy the next time I post.

More later [but not like this].....Booboo

Happy Birthday To My Pocket Ferengei!

So, the PF turned 45 today. I asked him what he wanted to do, and he said "I wanna go to the beach!". So, we went to the beach.

We had a nice breakfast at a diner on the way to Long Beach Island, "The Garden State Diner". It was pretty good (we've passed it often enough, but never stopped before). It's near Fort Dix, so there were some Army people in the place. (Funny conversation #1 we overheard today was at this diner: Husband: "Now she's got her mouth open showing her food!"; Wife: "She's 4 and in front of a mirror!", end of conversation.)

We usually go to LBI going through New Egypt Route 537 to Route 539; but the hubby suggested a different way. It's his day, who am I to say no. So we went through Browns Mills, Wrigtstown (Route 545 to Route 70 to Route 539, then the road to LBI).

He couldn't have picked a nicer day to go for this ride. It was partly cloudy in the AM, and the drive was uneventful. We got to see some new places (I don't remember going through Wrightstown -- blink and you miss kind of town) and we drove on the outskirts of Fort Dix (so we got to see some of the Army men in action, nothing special, just training).

We got to LBI and it was really nice out down there (?over there?--we live in Western/Central Jersey, so we drove across to Eastern/Central Jersey). We hung around Barnegat: went to the Lighthouse (didn't go up it, been there done that), but we walked around the inlet and watched some people fish (one guy caught a baby flounder, he did the catch and release--too many people watching). Bunches of people (mainly New Yorkers -- some really uninteresting conversations) around. We met a 'brain surgeon' on the way back to the parking lot: as we were walking away from the BIG LIGHTHOUSE, a woman came over from the restrooms and asked if the way we came led to the lighthouse...PF respectfully waited for her to turn the bend before saying "nah, it leads to the parking lot").

So after that we drove to the bay side and sat and watched the boats coming and going in the inlet. That was nice, until the green head fly's started biting. So, we took off for the beach.

This was nice, we only had to go up and down one street before we found a decent parking spot (we usually have to go around 4 blocks). Made our way up the dune and onto the beach. It was really nice. Only 'almost' lost one sandal in the water (the PF's kind of quick for a 45 year old)...I had them both in my hand and we were standing at the edge of the water...and my left hand twitched/spazzed and I dropped a sandal...great response from him too "all you had to do was hold the shoes?"

We got to watch some surfboard parasailers (or whatever you call them...they ride surfboards and they hold on to parachutes while surfing)...that was neat. There weren't a whole lot of people on the beach (at least from what we could recall from when we were kids; lots more people on the beach back then).

After we made our way back to the car (after stopping to get the sand off, and I found a tick on me (that's always nice)), we stopped for dinner at a place called "Kubels". We've been there before, and I remember the food being better. He got New England Clam Chowder and a muscle appetizer and a beer, and I got the same soup, a salad and I tried their "Crab Pot Pie"...it's not sitting too well with me right now...like I said, I remember their food being better. (And this was where we heard the third "huh" conversation: Wife to Husband: So what's the difference between crab cakes and fish cakes?" to which I responded "there's crab in crab cakes and fish in fish cakes", they were kind of quiet after that (I think they heard me).

After a quick stop at fudge place (have to stop for some Country Kettle Fudge), we made our way home.

So, all-in-all it was a good day for the both of us. (Below is the picture I made for his Facebook).



More later...Booboo

A Little Late, But....

Rabbit, Rabbit! Say it twice at the beginning of the month for good luck.

More later....Booboo.